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Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Reboot: Nuclear needs a success . . . anywhere
The media have gleefully resurrected the language of a past nuclear renaissance. Beyond the hype and PR, many people in the nuclear community are taking a more measured view of conditions that could lead to new construction: data center demand, the proliferation of new reactor designs and start-ups, and the sudden ascendance of nuclear energy as the power source everyone wants—or wants to talk about.
Once built, large nuclear reactors can provide clean power for at least 80 years—outlasting 10 to 20 presidential administrations. Smaller reactors can provide heat and power outputs tailored to an end user’s needs. With all the new attention, are we any closer to getting past persistent supply chain and workforce issues and building these new plants? And what will the election of Donald Trump to a second term as president mean for nuclear?
As usual, there are more questions than answers, and most come down to money. Several developers are engaging with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or have already applied for a license, certification, or permit. But designs without paying customers won’t get built. So where are the customers, and what will it take for them to commit?
Kristina Skagius, Gunnar Svedberg, Ivars Neretnieks
Nuclear Technology | Volume 59 | Number 2 | November 1982 | Pages 302-313
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT82-A33033
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A significant retardation of radionuclides leaking from an underground repository can be expected if large parts of the rock body act as a sink for the radionuclides. To calculate the retardation, it is necessary to know the sorption properties and the diffusivities in the rock matrix for the radionuclides in the rock. The diffusivity will determine to what extent the rock matrix may be penetrated. Sorption experiments have been performed to determine the diffusion and sorption properties of cesium and strontium in crushed granite particles with one granite from Finnsjoen outside Forsmark on the east coast of Sweden, and one granite from the Stripa mine in central Sweden. Granite samples have been crushed and screened, and six different particle size fractions from 0.10 to 0.12 mm and 4 to 5 mm of each rock have been used in the experiments. The initial concentrations of inactive cesium and strontium were 10 to 15 ppm. A “synthetic” groundwater was used. The adsorption isotherm was found to be linear for strontium but nonlinear for cesium. One conclusion from this is that a prediction of cesium migration velocity from one single distribution coefficient is inappropriate. The experimental data indicate that the amount of sorption is dependent not only on the mass of granite particles but also to some extent on the size of the particles. A distinction has been made between sorption on external surfaces and inner surfaces. The amount of external surface adsorption was found to vary from 15 to 40% of the total adsorption capacity for the particle size fraction of 0.10 to 0.12 mm to a few percent or less for the largest particles used. Except for the largest particles, the experimentally determined diffusivities were found to lie in the interval expected from literature data on electric conductivities. The diffusivities were found to increase with increasing particle size. This could be explained by a higher diffusion rate in grain boundaries than in a homogeneous material. Nearly all of the smallest particles consist of only one mineral each.